Typewriting machine



July 11, 1939.

J. L. PETZ TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed JULY 24, 1937. 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 m 1: I Ill w 3 2 W m m H U 2 8 w m J 5 r i Y T NP R w o N n w a v July 11, 1939; J. PETZ TYPEWRITING MACHINE .Filed July 24, 19:57 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JOHN L. p57 BY ATTORNEY July 11, 1939. J. L. PETZ 2,165,301

- TYPEWRITING momma Filed July 24, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY FIG. 3,

July 11, 1939. J. L. PETZ 2,165,301

TYPEWRITING MACHINE v Filed July 24, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR J'JH/V L- PETZ' ATTORNEY Patented Julyll, 193a I I 2,165,301

TYPEWRIT'ING MACHINE John L. Petr, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application M11124, 1937, Serial No. 155,363

11 Claims. (Cl. 197-153) This invention relates to typewriting mation, the present invention has been illustrated chines. and will be described hereinafter as applied to the The broad object of the present invention is well known International electric writing mato provide an improved ribbon feeding mechachine, formerly known as the Electromatic". It nism suitable for the ribbons used in the preparawill be understood, however, that the invention tion of carbon copies or for the production of is not limited to use in a .power operated typemaster sheets suchas are used in connection writer of the type selected for purposes of illuswlth the well known'Ditto" and New Process" tration, but may be used in other machines, duplicating processes. whether manually or power operated. Since the Another object.- is to provide ribbon feeding International electric writing machine is'now 1o mechanism in which the ribbon spools and the well known in the art and the various mechanisms ribbon feed mechanism are mounted independcomprising same are described in'numerous patently of the carriage thereby relieving the usual ents, the typewriter will not be described in detail spring motor and the operator of the work of herein. moving the additional load on the carriage which The numeral l0 designates the base of the 15 is usually imposed by the mounting of the ribbon machine on which is mounted the usual carriage feed mechanism and the ribbon spools on the including end plates ii and amember l2 (Fig. 2) carriage. welded or brazed to the end plates I I. The mem- Another object is to provide a ribbon feeding" her I2 is formed with suitable channels or grooves mechanism which is mounted independently of confronting the usual carriage guide rails I3. 30 the carriage and operated by the carriage through Anti-friction roller assemblies I4, riding in the a flexible connection whereby the ribbon moves in grooves of the rails l3 and in the channels of step with the-carriage. member l2, mount the carriage on the rails l3 An object is to provide a ribbon feeding mechafor movement to right or left (Figs. 1 and 3). nism which is relatively simple in construction The platen I5 is rotatably mounted in end plates 25 and imposes little additional load upon the usual II as is usual in the art. carriage feeding mechanism and carriage return Secured to the rear of the base I0 is a frame mechanism. casting i6 which extends to right and left (Figs. Further objects of the instant invention reside 1 and 3) beyond the base of the machine on in any novel feature of construction or operation each side a distance equal to approximately half 30 or novel combinations of parts present in the of the width of the base. Mounted on the frame embodiment of the invention described and shown it near the right hand rear corner of the main the accompanying drawings whether within or chine (Fig. 1) is a ribbon supply spool I1 on without the scope of the appended claims and which is wound the ribbon I8. Ribbon i8 is irrespective of other specific statements as to passed around a pulley l9 journaled on a stud 20 5 the scope of the invention contained herein. carried by the right hand end of frame It with In the drawings: reference to Fig. l or the left hand end referring Fig. l is a plan view of the machine; to Fig. 3 and then is led to the right in Fig, 3 Fig. 2 is an elevation of the rear portion of over the right hand rear ribbon guide 2| secured in the left hand sideof the machine with reference to an arm 22. to Fig. l; The ribbon guide H, as shown in Figs. '7 and 8, Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the machine; comprises ashort curved strip of metal bent down- Fig. 4' is an enlarged rear elevation of the feed wardly, forwardly, and upwardly with a smooth rollers; curve whereby the ribbon is deflected toward the 4.3 Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5-5 of front of the machine. Ribbon guide 21 is mount- Fig, 4; ed on a bracket 23 which is attached to the side Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section on the of the arm 22 by means of screws 24, the bracket line B-6 in Fig. 3; 23 having lugs 23a secured to the ribbon guide It. Fig. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the right Lugs 2Ia formed in the ends of narrow strips hand rear ribbon guide; secured to the ribbon guide It maintain the 5 Fig. 8 is a right side elevation of the right hand ribbon on the ends of the guide whereby the ribrear ribbon guide; hop in its feeding movements clings closely to the Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the right hand front surface of the guide 2! and is keptfrom slipping ribbon guide. off the ends of the two branches of said guide.

. Purely as a matter of convenience in descrlp- It has been found that the ribbon will feed evenly u over the curved surface on the guide 28 without slipping ofi said surface provided the material comprising the guide is not strained or stretched to any appreciable extent during the process of forming the guide. By means of this curved ribbon guide, it is possible to deflect the ribbon at right angles to its path from pulley 89 without the use of a more complicated system of guide rolls.

From the ribbon guide 2! the ribbon is passed forwardly over a pulley 25 rotatably mounted on a stud carried by the arm 22 at a point slightly in the rear of the platen i5. Forwardly of the pulley 25 (see Fig. 1) there is provided a curved ribbon guide 26, somewhat like the guide 26, mounted on a bracket 27 secured to the forward end of arm 22.

The arm 22 is pivoted at 23 on a stud carried by the rear end of an extension plate 23 secured to the right hand plate i i comprising the carriage (Fig. 1) On the opposite end of the carriage a similar arm 22 and plate 23 are provided. The arms 22 are integrally joined at the rear end of the machine by a tube 33 while at the forward end they are joined by a tie rod 35.

The right hand front ribbon guide 25 is shown in Fig. 9 and comprises a short curved strip of metal bent downwardly, forwardly and horizontally to the left and is secured to the side of arm 22 by means of screws 32. Secured to the back of the branch of the ribbon guide which extends horizontally to the left is a member its having lugs 26b which extend over the front surface of the ribbon guide so as to keep the ribbon from slipping downwardly ed the left hand end of the horizontal branch of theribbon guide. A lug 26c formed in the ribbon guide serves the same purpose for the vertical branch of the ribbon guide.

The arm 22 at the left hand end (Fig. 1) of the carriage, as best shown in Fig. 2 is provided with ribbon guides i2, 26 and a pulley 25 which are located at substantially the same points with reference to the stud 28 on which said arm is pivoted as in the case of right hand arm 22 (Fig. 1). However, the ribbon guides 2!, 26 on the left hand arm 22 are so constructed that the corresponding parts of the right and left hand guides are symmetrical with respect to the center line of the machine.

From the right hand front ribbon guide 26 in Fig. 1, the ribbon it extends horizontally to the left (Fig. 1) over the left hand front ribbon guide 26, over the left hand pulley 25, and over the left hand rear ribbon guide 2!, to a feed roller 33 which is mounted on a stud 36 (Figs. 4 and 5) carried by the right hand end (Fig. 3) of the frame I6. The feed roller 33 is mounted on the stud 34 by means of an anti-friction bearing 35. From the feed roller 33 the ribbon it passes to the right (Fig. l), or to the left in Fig. 3, and is wound upon a take-up spool 36. The take-up spool is shown in section in Fig. 6 and consists of two circular stampings 36a, 36b provided with square holes adapted to slip over the squared portion 31a of a shaft 37 Journaled in a bushing 38 pressed into a hole in a boss formed in a frame it.

One of the members 36a, 36b is secured to a hub 360 having lugs which enter rectangular slots formed in the other member whereby the two members 36a, 36b are rigidly connected for driving purposes but may be separated to remove the roll of ribbon. A thumb screw 39 screwed on the rear end of the shaft 31 holds the two stampings 36a, 36b together on shaft 31, with 3, the spring belt fill passes over two pulleys like #33 mounted on a bracket #33 secured to the frame casting it. The belt 62 passes through holes in the casting it and the base it] and around a pulley 430 (Fig. 1) whichis mounted on the power roller PR which operates the various mechanisms of the typewriter. Since this roller is always tuming while the machine is in use. the storage spool 33 comprising the members 38a, 36b, 360 will constantly tend-to rotate in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3) to wind the ribbon. The belt 36 is not stretched tightly on the pulleys but is slack enough so as to slip when relatively slight tension is reached in the ribbon it.

Pivotally mounted on stud is a lever .45, one arm of which extends downwardly (see Fig. 3) and is provided withs linger piece its by means of which the lever may be rocked clockwise ag'ainst the tension of a coil spring '68 interposed between the'fingerpiece and a lug ita formed in frame 53. The coil spring 63 surrounds a stud d! threaded into a hole in the lug 36a and extending loosely through a hole in the finger piece dfiajthe' 1 '1' it of the stud being to hold the spring '33 in brace.

The other arm of the lever extends horizontally (see Figs) and carries a feed roller 38, the latter being mounted on a stud 33 carried by the'lever 'Wby meahsof'an anti-friction bearing 3d. The periphery of the feed roller 63 is surfaced with a band of resilient material 5! such'as rubber. The spring 38 tends to rock the lever in in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3) whereby roller 33 presses the tape 63 firmly against the feed roller 33. to the feed roller 33 is a ratchet 52 with which cooperates a spring pressed pawlb3 mounted-on a stud 54 carried by the frame it whereby retrograde movement of the feed roller-s33, d! is prevented.

For the purpose of rotating the feed roller 33 to feed the ribbon 83 in step with the carriage,

there is provided a tape '53. The feed roller 33 is provided with two peripheral channels, one of which'receives the tape 35 and the other the ribbon i8. One'end of the tape 55 is secured to the left hand side of the left hand arm 22 (Fig. l) and after passing around the tape guiding channel in the pulley 33-passes to the right hand side of the machine (Fig. l), or to the left in Fig. 3, around a pulley 53 carried by the stud 2i! and thence to the right in Fig. 3 and is secured to the right hand arm 32 by means of a bracket Bl. The tape 55 is kept taut by means of a coil spring 53 which is anchored to the left hand arm'22 (Fig. 1) and to a clip riveted to the tape 55 a spaced distant from said arm, the spring forming a slight loop 55a in the tape.

The arms 22 are shown in elevated position in Fig. 2 with the upper edges of said arms engaging lugs 23a formed in the extension plates 29, the arms being held in this position by means of wish-bone shaped toggle springs 59 hooked over studs 22a carried by the arms 22 and studs 29b carried by the extension plates 29. The studs are so disposed that the efiect of the springs 59 is to press the arms 22 upwardly against the lug 29a when the arms 22 are raised or downwardly against stop studs '28s when said arms are lowered.

The right hand arm 22 (Figs. 1 and 2) is providedfwith a finger piece ill by means of which the fra'me including the arms 22 and rods 30, 3| may be rocked clockwise in Fig. 2 to cause the ribbon ll stretched between the. guides 26 to be projected downwardly in front of the platen at the writing line.

The usual paper ball is provided and consists of arms 6| pivoted at 82 on studs carried by the plates II and two rods 63a, 63b. the latter carrying adjustable rollers 64. The paper bail is operated in the usual way by means of springs 65 which, when the paper ball is lowered tend to engage the rollers 84 with the surface of the platen Hi. When the ribbon supporting and guiding frame including the arms 22 is raised, the

arms SI of the paper bail rest upon the rod 3| which rigidly joins arms 22. Thus, when the ribbon supporting and guiding member is raised. the paper bail is likewise raised out of cooperation with the platen.

The usual paper table 56 (Fig. 1) with.adjustable side guide 6'! is provided and is of a form commonly used in typewriters. The paper table is pivotally mounted in the carriage. as is usually the case, to permit swinging said table to a position to permit access to the usual marginal stops.

The ribbon supply spool I1 is constructed simi lrly to the take-up spool 26 to permit the supply spool to be separated into two parts for the insertion of a fresh roll of ribbon. The supply spool may be rotatably mounted on frame it in the same general fashion as the take-up spool 36 but need not be provided with a pulley like pulley 40. In order to prevent the ribbon-supply spool from rotating too freely, a brake is provided which takes the form of a leaf spring 68 secured to a lug formed in the frame l6 and projecting between the two members comprising the flanges of the spool l1 into engagement with the periphery of the roll of ribbon. The leaf spring 68 is sufficiently resilient to permit bending thereof downwardly in Fig. 3 far enough to remove the rear half of the ribbon supply spool II.

The operationof the ribbon feeding mechanism will now be described. With the frame comprising arms 22 in raised position, a sheet to be typed upon is inserted in the usual way and the frame 22 lowered to bring the ribbon ill to the writing line. As the typing proceeds the carriage of the typewriter moves from right to left-in Fig. 1 and conversely in Fig. 3 step by step. A step by step rotary movement is thereby communicated to the feed roller 33 through the tape 55 to rotate said feed roller clockwise in Fig. 3. The ribbon i8 is the feed in step with thecarriage whereby there .is no relative movement between the ribbon l8 and the carriage.

l When the end of a line is reached, the carriage is returned in the usual way. either by hand or by the depression of the carriage return key. the carriage to move to the right (Fig. 1) or to the left in Fig. 3. The pawl 53, in cooperation with the ratchet 52, prevents retrograde movement of the feed rollers 33, 48 thereby holding the ribbon is against reverse movement. Consequently, the ribbon is moved relatively to the carrlage, as the carriage returns, to bring a fresh length of ribbon to the writing line and the amount of relative movement between the ribbon it in the carriage will depend upon the extent of return movement of the carriage. In other words, if the marginal stops of the machine are so set as to permit the writing of an 8" line and the line is completely written, an 8" relative movement causing lnuncoated will occur between the ribbon II and the carriage.

On the other hand, if only a portion of a line, say

2' is written, calling for a carriage return movement of like amount, the ribbon ll will be advanced only 2" relative to the carriage.

The coil spring ll maintains only sufllcient tension in the tape 65 to rotate the feed roller 33 and is designed to permit the tape 55 to slide freely over the pulley 33 when the carriage is returned, the slight drag due to the friction between the tape 55 and pulley 33 being insumcient to materially retard the return movement of the carriage. Since the take-up spool 36 tends to constantly rotate in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3) the ribbon i8 will be wound on said takeup spool as fast as the feed rollers 32, 4! advance the ribbon i8 an increment.

A machine embodying the ribbon mechanism described above may be used for a variety of purposes, such as, manifolding, the production of master sheets used in the Ditto" and New Process" duplicating processes, and for reproduction by the photo-off-set and other printing processes employing photography.

When it is'desired to make manifold copies. a pair of sheets is inserted in the carriage in the usual way with the outer or ribbon copy sheet-in front of the ribbon II and the carbon copy sheet behind said ribbon. In this case the ribbon will consist of a carbon paper tape so threaded through the ribbon guides and over the various guide rollers that the coated side of the tape faces the platen. After the sheets have been inserted in the carriage, the lever 60 is pressed down causing the carbon tape ill to move down between the two sheets into position in front of the platen writingline, the paper ball 64 being positioned .to press both sheets against the platen above the writing line.

When it is desired to produce a master sheet for the Ditto" process, the carbon tape will be threaded as above so that the coated side faces the platen and will consist of a hectograph or similar carbon tape whereby the typed impressions on the master sheet may be subsequently transferred to the gelatine blanket in a well known way.

Master sheets for the photo-off set and similar printing processes may be produced in a similar coating designed for this purpose.

In the production of master sheets for the Ditto process and the photo-off set process, the usual inking ribbon is disabled by positioning the stencil control button or lever to the stencil typing position.

When it is desired to prepare master sheets for the New Process method of duplication, the master sheet is positioned so that the tape i8 is between the master sheet and the platen with the side facing the platen whereby the impressions produced by the type are made on the ;bacl of the master sheet and'in reverse. A ribbon ;similar to that used in the "Ditto process may be used and the regular inking ribbon of the typewriter is also employed to type upon the face of the master sheet as a means of verifying the accuracy of the typed matter.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single embodiment it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with the carriage of a typewriting machine, means on said carriage for guiding a ribbon along the printing line, means mounted independently of the carriage for supporting a ribbon storage spool and a ribbon sup-- ply spool, means for guiding the ribbon from the storage spool to the carriage and from the carriage to the supply spool, means including a pair of feed rollers and a driving pulley connected to one of the feed rollers, said means being mounted independenty of the carriage for feeding the ribbon, and means including a flexible band interconnecting the carriage and the driving pulley whereby to 'cause said ribbon to be fed in step with the carriage.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination with the carriage, of ribbon guides mounted in the carriage for guidingjhe ribbon across the typing line, a support frame mounted at the rear of the machine and extending parallel with the line of travel of the carriage, said frame projecting on each side of the machine the length of the carriage travel, ribbon supply and storage spools mounted in said frame, ribbon guides mounted at each end of the frame for guiding the ribbon from the supply spool to the carriage and from the carriage to the storage spool, means mounted in said frame and comprising a pair of feed rollers for advancing said ribbon, and a resilient connection between said carriage and said feed rollers for rotating same in step with carriage movement whereby the movement of the carriage effects rotation of the feed rollers.

3. In combination with the carriage of a typewriting machine, a ribbon supporting frame pivotally mounted in the carriage, means on said frame for guiding a ribbon along the writing line, means on said frame and located at the rear of the carriage for guiding the ends of the ribbon in opposite directions and parallel with the line of travel of the carriage, means mounted independently of the carriage and at its limits of travel for deflecting the ribbon downwardly and toward the center of the machine, ribbon supply and storage rolls mounted near the center of the machine on which spools the ends of the ribbon are wound, pulleys located at the limits of carriage travel, one of said pulleys having a driving relationship to one of the guide spools, and a flexible band having its ends connected to the carriage and passing around said pulleys, said flexible band being operative when the carriage is moved in one direction to rotate the corresponding ribbon guide spool to thereby advance the ribbon in step with the carriage, and means coacting with the last named guide spool for preventing feed of the ribbon upon the return movement of the carriage.

4. In combination with the carriage of a typewriting machine, a platen mounted on said carriage, a frame mounted on the rear of said machine and extending outboard of said machine on each side thereof, a carriage having its rear portion overlying said frame, guide rollers mounted in the ends of said frame, a pivoted frame mounted in the carriage at a point above the first named frame, ribbon storage and supply spools mounted on the first named frame, said ribbon extending from said spools over said guide rollers and parallel with the carriage movement toward the sides of said carriage, means mounted on the second named frame adjacent the pivotal points thereof for deflecting said ribbon at right angles toward the front of the platen, means on the second named frame located at the forward portions of the second named frame for guiding said ribbon in front of the platen and along the writing line, means to displace the second named frame from the position in which the ribbon extends along the writing line to a position in which the ribbon extends above the writing line to permit free insertion of work sheets, means to yieldingly hold the second named frame in either of its alternative positions, a tape having its ends secured to the ends of the carriage so as to form two loops, pulleys at the ends of the first named frame for supporting said loops, one of said pulleys having a driving connection to one of the ribbon guiding spools whereby movement of the carriage in one direction causes the ribbon to be fed in the direction of carriage movement, and means cooperating with one of said spools for preventing reverse move ment of the ribbon when the carriage is returned whereby the ribbon is drawn through the guides on the carriage so as to bring a fresh portion of said ribbon to the writing line.v

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with the carriageof a typewriter, ribbon storage and supply spools mounted independently of said carriage and rearwardly thereof, means to support and guide the ribbon for movement relative to the carriage including a frame displaceable from a position in which the ribbon extends along the writing line to a position in which the ribbon occupies a position above the writing line whereby to permit free insertion of a work sheet, a paper bail pivotally mounted in said carriage and cooperating with the work sheet when said frame is in its first named position to hold a work sheet against the platen, said paper bail being elevated'with said frame when the latter is displaced to move the ribbon to the second named position.

6. In combination with the carriage of a typewriting machine, a platen mounted on said carriage, a support frame mounted rearwardly of the machine and extending lengthwise of the line of travel of the carriage substantially twice the distance the carriage travels, ribbon supporting spools mounted at the ends of said frame and adapted to support the ends of a ribbon in two horizontal and substantially co-linear straight stretches, means mounted at each end of the carriage for deflecting both stretches of the ribbon at right angles to the line of travel of the carriage and forwardly of the latter to points adjacent the ends of the platen, means on the carriage at the ends of the platen for guiding the ribbon in a straight stretch along the writing line, feeding means for the ribbon mounted at one end of said frame, and a flexible belt connecting said feeding means with the carriage whereby movement of the carriage in a writing direction causes'slack in said ribbon produced in one of the horizontal straight stretches by movement of the carriage to be taken up automatically as the carriage moves, and means associated with the feeding means for locking the ribbon against feeding movement when the carriage is returned.

7. In combination with the carriage of a typewriting machine, a platen mounted on the carriage, a ribbon supply spool mounted on said machine independently of the carriage, ribbon feedriage and in front of the platen along the writturned.

ing line thereof and to said feed rollers, a storage spool for receiving the ribbon from said feed rollers, and means including'a flexibleband con nected to the carriage foractuating the feeding device when the carriage moves.

8. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with the carriage, a frame mountedon the rear of the machine and extending parallel with the line of travel of the carriage, feed rollers mounted on one end of said frame, guiding means mounted on the other end of said frame for guiding a ribbon to the carria8e and from the carriage to said feed rollers, means connected to the carriage for rotating said feed roll ers when the carriage moves in one direction, and

means cooperating with the feed rollers to prevent rotation thereof when the carriage is re- 9. In a machine of the class described, the combination with the carriage, a support frame mounted independently of the carriage and extending along the line of travel of the carriage. ribbon supporting and guiding means mounted on said frame for guiding the ribbon to and from said carriage, said ribbon supporting and guiding means being spaced apart to support the ribbon .without interference with the carriage while still permitting free movement of the carriage; ribbon guiding means mounted on the carriage and arranged to guide said ribbon from the first named guides, in front of the platen, and along the writing line; and feeding means including a pair of feed rollers mounted on said frame for advancing the ribbon when the carriage moves, and a flexible band connected to the carriage for operating the feeding means when the carriage moves in a writing direction.

10. In combination with the carriage of a typewriting machine, ribbon feeding mechanism mounted independently of the carriage including a pair of feed rollers, means to guide the ribbon to and from the carriage to permit free movement of the carriage without fouling the ribbon, means on the carriage for guiding the ribbonalong the writing line, a flexible belt connected to said carriage and feed rollers for operating the feeding means when the carriage moves, and a spring connected to said belt and to the carriage for maintaining said belt under tension.

11. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with the carriage of a typewriting machine, ribbon supply and storage rollers mounted independently of the carriage, ribbon feeding mechanism mounted independently of the carriage, means for guiding the ribbon to the feeding mechanism and to and from the carriage to permit the carriage to move freely without fouling the ribbon, a flexible belt connected to the carriage, and to the feeding mechanism for operating the latter when the carriage moves in a writing direction, and means to yieldingly drive the storage spool to take up the slack produced in the ribbon. by said feeding mechanism.

- JOHN I. PE'IZ. 

